BOISE — The Idaho House Business Committee approved a rule change today that will require insurers to cover medically necessary hearings aids and speech therapy sessions for Idaho children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
There are an estimated 1,000 children in the state who will benefit from the measure.
“Credit for this goes to the dedicated mothers and doctors who brought this issue to our attention and fought for the change,” said Rep. Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) “Our state got a little bit stronger today because these kids are going to get the help they need in order to thrive”
Under the new rules, insurers must cover new hearing devices once every three years as well as 45 hours of speech therapy during the first year after a device is delivered.
The proposed rule change passed the committee unanimously.
